Mini Key Lime Pies and a Great Summer Lunch Menu

A couple of months ago I was asked to cater a luncheon for the Department Head of one of the schools at UGA. When I started planning my menu, I decided what dessert I wanted to make first and then planned the rest of the menu around that. I saw these adorable Mini Key Lime Pies and I knew they would be the perfect summer treat and a great way to end any summer lunch.
The main dish was this delicious salad which I have made many times before and since this event. It is one of the best tasting salads and I love the cute presentation of each individual serving in mason jars.


I can't ever go wrong with the simple roasted shrimp that my family loves, so I added that to the menu as well.
The last thing I made was this wonderful Red Lentil dip that is served with pita chips. I remember when I first made it a couple years ago and it is seriously one of the best dips ever invented.
The luncheon was an overwhelming success and I got wonderful, positive feedback. It was so much fun to organize, put together and present this meal. I love making delicious food and sharing it with other people.

Here is the recipe for Greek Salad with Orzo and Black-eyed Peas from epicurious (I made it exactly as the recipes states this time) and here is my adaptation when I made it last time

Here is the basic recipe for the Roasted Shrimp, this time I added a little Greek Seasoning to the shrimp and roasted them at 450 degrees for 7 minutes

Here is the recipe for Garlicky Red Lentil Dal with my changes, originally from Cooking Light

Here is the recipe for Mini Key Lime Pies as seen on Plum Pie
* I doubled the recipe for the crust and made 8 mini pies
*I made a sweetened whipped cream topping, but not with rum- just vanilla and powdered sugar

Key Lime Pie Gelato

When I was visiting my sister in DC, she was really excited about her new Ice Cream Maker that she gifted to her husband for Father's Day. She wanted me to show her how to make custard, so that she could make gelato. She also purchased a great book and picked this Key Lime Pie Gelato, as the first gelato to try.

Making the gelato base was the same as making an ice cream custard- the only difference being that there is more whole milk and less cream in this gelato base than a typical ice cream custard.
A slight difference, in my opinion.

We added more graham cracker crumbs then the recipe called for and made sure to freeze them ahead of time, so they would be completely frozen.

This was a really great frozen treat. It really tasted like key lime and everyone loved it.




recipe from the Ciao Bella Book of Gelato & Sorbetto

Plain Base
Makes enough for about 1 quart of gelato

INGREDIENTS
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar




PREPARATION
In a heavy-bottom saucepan, combine the milk and cream. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally so a skin doesn't form, until tiny bubbles start to form around the edges and the mixture reaches a temperature of 170 degrees F.

Meanwhile, in a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Gradually whisk in the sugar until it is well incorporated and the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Temper the egg yolks by very slowly pouring in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously. Return the custard to the saucepan and place over low heat. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and it reaches a temperature of 185 degrees F. Do not bring to a boil.

Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl and let cool to room temperature, stirring every 5 minutes or so. To cool the custard quickly, make an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water and placing the bowl with the custard in it; stir the custard until cooled. Once completely cooled, cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.

When the custard has been completely chilled,
add:
3 Tbls key lime juice
2 tsp lime zest

Now churn in your ice cream machine, according to directions.

When custard is almost ready, add
3/4 cup crushed graham crackers, frozen.

Transfer to a container and freeze, until firm enough to scoop.

Blackberry Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

There have been a couple of times that I have had exactly 5 egg whites leftover in my fridge from making some sort of tart with pastry cream. It happened twice last month and this is one of the recipes that I made with the egg whites.
I saw these cupcakes awhile ago on Peabody's blog and they just looked too good to pass up. I printed the recipe and then tried to fit them in somewhere.
When I saw that blackberries were really cheap a couple of weeks ago, I decided that was the time. The same day someone asked me to bring something to a game night and these were the perfect thing.
I had to make some into mini cupcakes, so my kids could at least try them.
The flavor of the blackberry cupcake with the key lime frosting was perfect.
I also thought the color of the cupcakes was really pretty. Kindof a blueish-purpley color. Especially because it was colored that way naturally.
If you have egg whites hanging out in the fridge or want an excuse to buy blackberries, these cupcakes are the perfect excuse!

Blackberry Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting from Peabody
Blackberry Cupcakes
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour (you can use all-purpose if you need)

2/3 cup blackberry puree (with the seeds removed)

1 TBSP. baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup whole milk

5 egg whites

Sift together flours, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

In a mixing bowl (if using a stand mixer use the paddle attachment), cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract and blackberry puree. Beat until incorporated.

In a liquid measuring cup, combing vegetable oil and milk. Add flour mixture and milk/oil mixture alternatively to the mixing bowl. Beating on low speed after each addition. Pour mixture into a large bowl. Scrape down to make sure you get all of the batter. Clean out bowl and switch to whisk attachment.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter, to “lighten” the batter. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.Grease and lightly flour muffin pans. Fill each cup half full.

Bake at 375 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire rack. Frost with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting.

Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup key lime juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-4 cups powdered sugar (depending on the consistency you are going for)

Beat together the cream cheese and butter, about 2 minutes. Add key lime juice and vanilla while mixer is on low until fully incorporated.Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until you reach desired consistency.

For Mothers Day- Tea Sandwiches, Petit Fours, and Lemon Scones

Peanut-Butter Swirl Brownies, Key Lime Bars, and Mini Black-and-White Cookies

I was asked to make some goodies for a meeting and for some reason, everytime someone asks me to bake for them, I come up with 3 things that I want to make. I usually want to make something fruity, something chocolately, and then something else.

There are quite a few cookies and bars I have been wanting to make out of Martha Stewart's Cookies Cookbook. I really love how there is a picture of every single cookie in this cookbook at the front. It helped me decide which ones to choose. Pictures are really helpful to me when it comes to picking desserts.

All of these recipes came together really fast.

I had some key lime juice in the freezer and it just happened to be enough for these bars. I made the bars in a pie plate and ended up cutting them into triangles. I didn't have any key lime slices to use as a garnish, so I used strawberries.

The peanut butter brownies were fabulous! We really didn't get to try a normal serving size of any of these desserts, but we sampled small portions of each one. I think the brownies were the favorite with the taste-testers.

The mini black-and-whites were a soft, buttermilk cookie, with a delicious, lemony glaze. They were the perfect size to pop in your mouth.

Mini Black-and-White Cookies

Ingredients

Makes about 4 dozen

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup

2 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add granulated sugar; mix until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk.

Roll tablespoons of dough into balls (or use a 1/2-ounce-capacity ice-cream scoop); place them 2 inches apart on lined sheets. Bake until bottoms turn golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool.

Whisk confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, remaining 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. If necessary, add more water (icing should be a bit thicker than honey). Transfer half to a small bowl. Stir in cocoa; if necessary, thin with water. Spread white icing on half of each cookie's flat side, and cocoa icing on other half; let set 30 minutes

Key Lime Bars

Ingredients

makes about 16

1 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs

2 1/2 tablespoons finely ground graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 large egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest

2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice , (about 23 Key limes total)

1 cup sweetened condensed milk, (14 ounces)

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 Key limes, thinly sliced into half-moons

Directions

Make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Press evenly onto bottom of an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Bake until dry and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.(Leave oven on.)

Make filling: Put egg yolks and lime zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on high speed until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add condensed milk in a slow, steady stream, mixing constantly. Raise speed to high; mix until thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add lime juice; mix until just combined.Spread filling evenly over crust using a spatula. Bake, rotating dish halfway through, until filling is just set, about 10minutes.

Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight).

Cut into 2-by-2-inch bars. Put cream in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Garnish bars with whipped cream and a slice of lime. Ungarnished bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Peanut-Butter Swirl Brownies
To swirl brownies, work quickly so that batter and filling don't set, and place dollops of filling on the first layer of batter about one inch apart. Repeat with next layer of batter and remaining filling. Then, run a butter knife through the layers three times lengthwise and three times crosswise, being sure knife reaches the bottom of the pan. Store brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
Ingredients
Makes 9 large or 16 small squares.
FOR THE BATTER
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for pan
2 ounces good-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
FOR THE FILLING
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a buttered 8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper, allowing 2 inches to hang over sides. Butter lining (excluding overhang); set pan aside.
Make batter: Put butter and chocolates in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted. Let cool slightly.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl, and set aside.
Whisk granulated sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until well incorporated.
Make filling: Stir together butter, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.
Pour one-third of batter into prepared pan, and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Place dollops of filling (about 1 tablespoon each) about 1 inch apart on top of batter. Drizzle remaining batter on top, and gently spread to fill pan. Place dollops of remaining filling on top.
With a butter knife, gently swirl filling into batter, running knife lengthwise and crosswise through layers. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out brownies; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

Coming Tomorrow- Quinoa Risotto with Hazelnuts

TWD- Tall and Creamy Cheesecake

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, Tall and Creamy Cheesecake was chosen by Anne Strawberry. You can find the recipe over at her blog. I almost didn't get any pictures of this one and had to settle for a half eaten piece, of which the top layer of cheesecake had been eaten and more sauce was added on top. I almost had to beat people and banish them from the kitchen, when I was making this so it could cool and rest in the fridge overnight. Cheesecake is popular around here. I decided to flavor the batter with key lime juice (which I had in the freezer from my last key lime cheesecake experience), lime zest and I made a fresh strawberry sauce. It was our Christmas dinner dessert and everyone loved it. I also made it with all sour cream and did away with the water bath. Yummy! Go check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see all the other delectable cheesecake variations!

Strawberry Sauce from Southern Living

1 1/4 cups fresh strawberries

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime rind

Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.

Come Back Tomorrow for- Asparagus, Ham, and Fontina Bread Pudding and Hot Chocolate with a serious kick!

Chocolate-Key Lime Cupcake Pies, Phyllo Mini Tarts 3- ways, and Gale Gand's Butterballs

My husband knows how much I like to bake. In the past he has asked me to make dessert for his work functions. This happens every couple of months and usually everyone requests Cheesecake Pops and I make them. This time his boss called him and asked him to ask me to make some desserts for a small lunch and then the next week for a larger event. I am getting paid! Anyway, I told him I didn't want to make Cheesecake Pops again (I like trying out new recipes) and he didn't have any suggestions, so that left me to decide what I would try.

I remember seeing these Chocolate-Key Lime Cupcake Pies in Southern Living (I still get my subscription even though we moved to Utah) and at the time thought they looked a little too fancy for everyday, so I thought this was the perfect time to try them. I just made them in a normal muffin tin, with normal size aluminum liners and made two small pies in ramekins, so we could try some too. I made them the night before and kept them in the fridge overnight. They required about 5-10 more minutes to set then the recipe suggests and the centers fell a little. Everyone loved them though. I thought they tasted more like cheesecake than pie, which isn't really a bad thing. I got the last bag of key limes at my grocery store and garnished them with raspberries and sweetened whipped cream.

The ButterBalls, (isn't that a great name) are the cookie featured on the cover of Gale Gand's Chocolate and Vanilla Cookbook (well, the vanilla side cover) and I thought they looked cute, so I made them. I made the dough and the vanilla sugar the day before and these were the favorite item with the tasters here. I couldn't keep the hands away. They were grabbing them right out of the oven, with the chocolate and then with the sugar. I finally had to hide them!

The mini phyllo shells are just so versatile and I tried a couple of different fillings. Everything was a hit. Next week for my hubby's workplace, I am going to make Bakerella's Cupcake Pops and Red Velvet Cake Balls, more Butterballs, and a few other things, so make sure you come and check them out!

Chocolate-Key Lime Cupcake Pies from Southern Living Magazine

Prep: 30 min., Bake: 20 min., Cool: 30 min., Chill: 4 hr.

12 jumbo-size aluminum foil baking cups

Vegetable cooking spray

1 (9-oz.) package chocolate wafer cookies

1/2 cup butter, melted

3 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons key lime zest

1/3 cup fresh key lime juice

3 large eggs

Garnishes: sweetened whipped cream, fresh cherries and blackberries, fresh mint leaves

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Place 12 jumbo-size aluminum foil baking cups in lightly greased muffin pans, and coat with cooking spray.
2. Pulse chocolate wafer cookies in a food processor 8 to 10 times or until finely crushed. Stir together cookie crumbs and butter; firmly press on bottom and two-thirds up sides of each baking cup (about 3 Tbsp. crumbs per cup).
3. Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add lime zest and lime juice, beating at low speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition. Spoon mixture into prepared cups, filling completely full.
4. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until set. Cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and let cool 15 minutes or until completely cool. Cover and chill 4 hours. Garnish, if desired.

Mary's Butterballs from Gale Gand's Chocolate and Vanilla
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raspberry jam or ganache*
2 cups vanilla sugar **, for rolling

In a mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until it's light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in the granulated sugar and when the mixture is well blended add the flour and mix until it forms a dough. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for at least 3 hours to make it easier to handle. This also helps prevent the balls from flattening out too much when they're baked.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Taking off pieces of dough with your hands, roll small (3/4-inch) balls of dough (about the size of a hazelnut in the shell). Chill them for 30 minutes in the freezerm then place them 2 inches apart on cookie sheets to allow for some spreading. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or just until the cookies are firm but not browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pans.
Spread the flat surface of half of the cooled cookies with the jam of ganache and top with a second cookie to form a little sandwiched ball. The filling will not show very much. Once you've sandwiched them all together, bury them in the vanilla sugar to coat the entire outside.
*Ganache (Gale Gand)
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream

In a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring constantly. When melted, pour in the cream and whisk until combined. Remove from heat.

**Vanilla Sugar from Alton Brown
1 vanilla bean, whole or scraped
2 cups granulated sugar

If vanilla bean is whole, slice down side of bean with back of knife and scrape seeds into airtight container with the sugar. Cut bean into 3 pieces and bury down in sugar and seal tightly with lid. Let sit for 1 to 2 weeks. Use as regular, granulated sugar.

PEANUT BUTTER & CHOCOLATE KISS from Athens Fillo recipes
Ingredients
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup marshmallow creme
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
15 Athens® Mini Fillo Shells (1 box)
15 Hershey's® Kisses

In a small bowl, place peanut butter, marshmallow and vanilla. Blend well. Spoon 1 rounded teaspoon of filling into each Fillo Shell. Top with Hershey's® Kiss. Serve immediately.

Lemon Cream Phyllo Tarts by Mary Ann
1/3 cup lemon curd
1/2 cup Cool Whip
Athens mini fillo shells

place lemon curd in a bowl. Stir until color changes and well mixed. Add in Cool Whip and stir until mixture is smooth. Refrigerate or if ready to serve, fill phyllo shells. Garnish with whipped cream, Cool Whip, blueberries or other fruit.

Pumpkin Phyllo Tarts by Mary Ann
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
2/3 cup Cool Whip
2-5 Tbls brown sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice or 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger and nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp allspice
Athens mini fillo shells

Combine pumpkin, Cool Whip, brown sugar and spices in a bowl. Stir until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to use. Right before serving, fill shells and garnish with whipped cream or Cool Whip.

Coming Tomorrow- A Simple, Family Favorite-Cashew Chicken and Chow Mein Cookies

TWD-Florida Pie

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, Florida Pie, was chosen by Dianne over at Dianne's Dishes. This was a delicious mix of coconut and key lime with a tasty meringue on top. We had it for our mother's day dessert and I went with mini-pies because I love individual servings (and my dad dispises coconut, so I made him lemon meringue pie instead). I used fat-free sweetened condensed milk because that is what I had in my pantry and I left the coconut out of the meringue. I thought this pie was delicious and my favorite so far!

Getting the 1/2 cup juice from the key limes was a ton of work! Luckily my younger brother was there to assist me, but we went through alot of limes. I am glad I used them though, because the key lime flavor was a little sweeter and very intense.

Since I made 12 mini-pies, I only baked them for 8 minutes. Turned out perfect!
My baby demolished her portion, but the leftover part was just the right for smooshing in someone's face. My husband was a willing participant!
Florida Pie

1 9-inch graham cracker crust (page 235), fully baked and cooled, or a store-bought crust

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

4 large eggs, seperated

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice (from about 5 regular limes)

1/4 cup of sugar

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment of a silicone mat. Put the cream and 1 cup of the coconut in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly. Continue to cook and stir until the cream is reduced by half and the mixture is slightly thickened. Scrape the coconut cream into a bowl and set it aside while you prepare the lime filling.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolks at high speed until thick and pale. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk. Still on low, add half of the lime juice. When it is incorporated, add the reaming juice, again mixing until it is blended. Spread the coconut cream in the bottom of the graham cracker crust, and pour over the lime filling. Bake the pie for 12 minutes. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes, then freeze the pie for at least 1 hour.

To Finish the Pie with Meringue:Put the 4 egg whites and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, whisking all the while, until the whites are hot to the touch. Transfer the whites to a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer in a large bowl, and beat the whites at high speed until they reach room temperature and hold firm peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold the remaining 1/2 cup coconut into the meringue.Spread the meringue over the top of the pie, and run the pie under the broiler until the top of the meringue is golden brown. (Or, if you've got a blowtorch, you can use it to brown the meringue.) Return the pie to the freezer for another 30 minutes or for up to 3 hours before serving.